Taiwan Temporarily Raises Exporters’ Daily Dollar Sales Limit Amid Currency Pressure
Key Facts
Taiwan’s central bank temporarily raised the daily limit on exporters’ dollar sales, according to a report by Bloomberg cited by MNI Markets, as the Taiwan dollar faced pressure from foreign investor outflows. The adjustment follows a roughly 2% decline in the currency against the U.S. dollar from the start of July through October 21, alongside net outflows of $54.3 billion over the same period. The report describes the measure as a temporary increase in the daily limit and does not attribute to the bank any announcement that its aim was to support the currency or stabilize its exchange rate. According to the central bank’s statement to parliament, the outflow figure included capital gains and cash dividends. Trading data on November 2 also showed the U.S. dollar at 32.681 Taiwan dollars at 10 a.m., up 0.203 from the previous close.
The outflows coincided with substantial net selling of Taiwanese stocks: foreign institutional investors sold a net 1.25 trillion Taiwan dollars’ worth of shares between July and October 21, equivalent to about $38.7 billion, according to a central bank report cited by Focus Taiwan. That figure differs from the total outflows of $54.3 billion because the total also includes capital gains and cash dividends. Central Bank Governor Yang Chin-long said the currency’s decline was linked to foreign investors cashing in gains from the rise in Taiwanese stocks and transferring funds abroad. He added that the bank allows the currency to move with market forces but seeks to prevent excessive volatility. This explanation puts money flows at the center of the pressure, without the governor linking the announced temporary measure to a specific exchange-rate target.
The bank attributed currency pressure since July to renewed concerns about a military conflict between the United States and Iran, as well as a global selloff in technology stocks amid worries about artificial intelligence spending. The selloff also affected Taiwan’s Taiex index, according to the report submitted to parliament. The Taiwan dollar fell 3.23% against the U.S. dollar from January 1 through October 21, while the U.S. dollar index rose 3.49% over the same period. The divergence shows that the Taiwan dollar’s weakness coincided with a stronger U.S. currency, alongside pressure from outflows and stock sales. In the published information, the bank did not specify the separate effect of each factor on the exchange rate.
Moves in the first half of the year provide an earlier comparison of investor flows and the bank’s intervention in the foreign-exchange market. During that period, foreign institutional investors recorded net outflows of $23.3 billion, and the bank said it sold $17.04 billion more in foreign currency than it bought, in an effort to curb market volatility. In 2025, the Taiwan dollar rose 4.3% against the U.S. dollar at year-end compared with the end of the previous year, while its annual average rose 3.0%, according to the central bank’s annual report. The bank then attributed part of the currency’s rise to foreign purchases of stocks and exporters’ dollar sales during May and June. The comparison reflects a shift in the direction of currency movements and flows between those periods and the pressure that emerged from July 2026.
Before the trading recorded on November 2, the Taiwan dollar’s last visible close was 32.478 per U.S. dollar on October 30, according to the closing rate published on the central bank’s website. The rate then rose to 32.681 Taiwan dollars per dollar at 10 a.m. on November 2, an increase of 0.203 from the previous close, according to Focus Taiwan. The move in the foreign-exchange market came after the announcement of a higher daily limit on exporters’ dollar sales, while the published information contains no measure directly linking the action to the currency’s movement during trading. The measure remains temporary, according to the report’s description; published materials do not specify when the adjustment will end or whether the previous limit will be reinstated. Attention will turn to any announcement by the bank on whether the temporary limit will continue, alongside developments in investor flows and the dollar’s rate against the Taiwan dollar.